Olivia Newton John endorses medicinal cannabis doco

MUSIC superstar and Northern Rivers resident Olivia Newton John is one of the faces of a new film about medicinal cannabis in Australia, High as Mike.

The feature-length documentary by the three local filmmakers follows the quest of Tamworth man Mike, as he tries to access medical cannabis to treat a brain tumour that is slowly making him blind.

In an online trailer, Newton John is introduced as a 'patient'.

"I can't advise you to break the law, but, you know, I know what I would do," she says to a person talking to her on a video call, who mentions his only option is to access the black market.

"High as Mike is a documentary about the difficulties that Australians are having getting medicinal cannabis and I encourage you all to go to Fan-Force and get the movie screened in your home town," Newton-John says to the trailer's audiences while next to her husband, John Easterling.

WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES

The artist has spoken to American and Australian media about the need to access medical marijuana and her use of it as a cancer patient to alleviate pain.

The film was produced by DC Stories, a collaborative venture between cinematographers Daniel Raffaele, Peter Cross and award-winning editor Craig Wilson.

Mike has a brain tumour. It's the sort of tumour that won't kill him, but it will rob him of his sight.

The film shows how, with the current stagnation of medicinal cannabis prescription in Australia, Mike sets off on a road trip of discovery to find out if medicinal cannabis could reduce his tumour and help regain his eyesight.

​Mike chats with patients that have already embarked on the same life changing journey, as well as politicians, a former Australian Federal Police Commissioner, a lawyer, a neurosurgeon, doctors and suppliers of medicinal cannabis, including one that is facing an 18-year jail term for her service.

​The documentary uses patient testimonies with a broad range of medical conditions and expert opinions from all sides of the medicinal cannabis debate and aims to offer a balanced perspective of the current situation regarding the prescription of the plant.